Homeless Baltimore veterans from every major conflict since the Vietnam War are being killed by a paramilitary organization (with government connections) that is harvesting their internal organs for profit by selling them to transplant patients in third world countries. One of the main characters, who is a highly decorated Air Force four-star general with fighter pilot experience, came home from a secret operation to extract the U.S. ambassador from the embassy in Baghdad. He suffered from not only a severe case of PTSD, but was also badly injured. After coming home from that mission and being unsuccessfully treated for his condition, he takes an unauthorized leave of absence (or so it seems), leaves his home in White Marsh, Maryland, and is homeless for two years before he is kidnapped from his makeshift home on the cold winter streets of Baltimore.